British Sociology 1950–1970: A Journal Analysis

This article presents an analysis of contributors and contributions to three British sociological journals together with some information on the membership of the British Sociological Association (B.S.A.) and of the Association's Committee. The material gives, among other things, a picture of the pattern of research activity and serves to reveal something of the institutional complex in which sociology in Britain is rooted. It may be considered as a contribution to the sociology of sociology.̂ The three journals are the Sociological Review (Soc. Rev.), the British Journal of Sociology (B.J.S.), and Sociology, Official Journal of the British Sociological Association (Sociology). From 1908 to 1953 the Sociological Review was published first by the Sociological Society and then by the Institute of Sociology. The Institute ran into difficulties in the early fifties and the Review was taken over by Keele University^ which commenced publication of a 'New Series' in 1953 with an editorial board composed of seven professors from Keele University. The B.J.S. was founded in 1950 by the London School of Economics in conjunction with Routledge the publishing house; the editors were three professors from the School. Sociology was founded jointly by the B.S.A. and the Clarendon Press, a division of the Oxford University Press. It first appeared in 1967 with a professor from Bristol University as editor, and an editorial board consisting of a leaurer from Cambridge University, a professor from Newcastle University and a non-academic from Political and Economic Planning, a private research institute. Subsequent changes in editorial arrangements have been made in each case and a feature of Sociology is the frequent rotation both of the editorship and of membership of the editorial board. The Sociological Review had two"̂ issues per annum, the B.J.S. four, and Sociology three. We have included in our analysis all issues of the B.J.S. and Sociology and all issues of the New Series of the Review, i.e. from 1953.